Yanling Black

Yanling County in Hunan Province, China, is the region associated with the legendary Emperor Shennong, said to be the first person to discover tea thousands of years ago. This ancient connection is not just a story found on a sign. It is woven into the landscape where this tea is grown. The cultivar behind Yanling Black is the same white bush used to produce Anji-style teas, prized across China for its naturally elevated amino acid content, which lends the tea an inherent sweetness and a gentleness that conventional black teas rarely achieve.

The small, twisted leaves with their scattered golden tips brew mellow and quietly complex tea. Those who appreciate our Keemun Mao Feng will find Yanling Black familiar in spirit but rooted in an origin story that goes further back than any other tea in our catalog.